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A Brief Exposition on Bt Nh Tm Kinh

Bt Nh Tm Kinh is the apex of the Mahayana Buddhism thought (Ph t gio i th a). Buddhism developed from Theravada (Ph t gio nguyn th y, or ti u th a) to Mahayana ( i th a). Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos are essentially Theravada. Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Hongkong, Singapore, Taiwan, Tibet and Mongolia are essentially Mahayana. However, Theravada has also had its presence in Vietnam as early as Mahayana. In this long development of Buddhism, the key concept of Khng (Snya in Sanskrist, emptiness or void in English) developed along. Life is non-permanent (v th ng) because everything comes and goes, depending on nhn duyn (the law of causation). Life is therefore illusory, not real. In other words, life is khng or h khng. This concept of Khng may easily lead to the negative thought of nihilism. Mahayana Buddhism takes us back out of this extremist concept of Khng to the middle way (trung o). This middle way still commits to the idea that life is Khng; however khng here is not different from c (existence), khng m l c, c m l khng (emptiness is existence, existence is emptiness). This middle way definitely takes away any inkling of nihilist negativism. It is realistic and positive about life. Bt Nh Tm Kinh presents this middle way while going swiftly through all teachings of the Buddhist tradition, from Theravada to Mahayana. Studying Bt Nh Tm Kinh is really the studying of the whole Buddhism. Bt Nh Tm Kinh is so central to Ph t gio i th a (Mahayana) that it is recited daily (kinh nh t t ng) by monks and nuns. In Vietnam, Bt Nh Tm Kinh is recited in hn vi t (the Vietnamese transliteration of Chinese language). The hn vi t version has the advantage of being a beautiful poem with good rhythm and sound and very concise language, therefore it is easy to memorize. The problem is that it is still a foreign language to most Vietnamese. However, since most Vietnamese Buddhist terms are hn vi t anyway, it would be better for students of Buddhism to be familiar with some hn vi t. For these reasons, in this study, we will use the hn vi t version as the main version, along with the Vietnamese and English translations to facilitate the understanding.

Bt Nh Tm Kinh
Prajpramit H daya Stra

Heart Sutra, Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra, Essence of Wisdom Sutra

Hn Vi t http://www.quangduc.com/kinhdien/kinhbatnha.html Qun-t -t i B -tt, hnh thm Bt-nh Ba-la-m t- a th i chi u ki n ng-uNn giai khng, thi t kh ch. nh t

X-L i-T ! S c b t d khng, khng b t d s c; s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c; th , t ng, hnh, th c, di c ph c nh th . X-L i-T ! Th ch Php khng t ng, b t sanh b c khng trung, v s c, v th , t ng, hnh, th c; hng, v , xc, php; v nhn gi i, ni ch v -th ch v lo t , di c v lo t t n; v kh , t p, di t, t di t, b t c u b t t nh, b t tng b t gi m. Th v nhn, nh, t , thi t, thn, ; v s c, thinh, c-gi i, v v-minh, di c v v-minh t n, ni o; v tr di c v c.

c c , B - tt- a y Bt-nh-ba-la m t- a c tm v qui-ng i; v qui-ng i c v D v s h u kh ng-b ; vi n ly in- o m ng t ng; c u cnh Ni t-bn. Tam-th ch Ph t, y Bt-nhba-la m t- a c c A-n u- a-la tam-mi u tam-b - . C tri Bt-nh Ba-la-m t- a, th i-th n ch, th i minh ch, th v-th ng ch, th v ng ch, nng tr nh t thi t kh , chn thi t b t h. C thuy t Bt-nh-ba-la-m t- a ch, t c thuy t ch vi t: Y ty t- , B - . Tt b ha. ng

Y t- , Ba-la y t- , Ba-la-tng

D ch Ngha Ti ng Vi t (TDHs version, worked from other existing translations)

Khi B tt Qun T T i th c hnh Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a su xa, soi th y nm uNn li n v t qua m i kh ch.

u khng,

X L i T ! S c ch ng khc khng, khng ch ng khc s c; s c t c l khng, khng t c l s c; th , t ng, hnh, th c cng l i nh v y.


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X L i T ! M i s u l khng, ch ng sanh ch ng di t, ch ng d ch ng s ch, ch ng thm ch ng b t. Cho nn, trong khng ch ng c s c, ch ng c th , t ng, hnh, th c; ch ng c m t, tai, mi, l i, thn, ; ch ng c mu s c, m thanh, hng thm, v n m, xc c m, v cc php; ch ng c ni nhn, cho n ch ng c c ni th c; ch ng c v minh, cng ch ng c ch m d t v minh; cho n ch ng c gi ch t, cng ch ng c ch m d t gi ch t; ch ng c kh , nguyn nhn kh , s di t kh , v con ng di t kh ; ch ng c tr tu , cng ch ng c t. B i ch ng c g t, B tt nng t a Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a, nn tm khng v ng m c; v khng v ng m c nn khng s hi, xa la m ng t ng in o, r t ro ni t bn. Ch Ph t ba i nng t a Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a nn t c v th ng chnh ng chnh gic. Nn bi t Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a l th n ch l n, l minh ch l n, l ch t i cao, l ch khng g snh b ng, tr h t m i kh ch, ch c th t, khng d i. Nn ni ch Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a, t c l ni ch r ng: Y t , Y t , Ba la Y t , Ba la tng , Tt b ha. (Qua r i, qua r i, qua b r i, qua b h t r i, gic ng r i, v y !). Y t ,B

English translation http://www.cttbusa.org/heartsutra/heartsutra.htm The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra (Translated by Tang Dharma Master of the Tripitaka Hsan-Tsang on imperial command). When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty. Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So, too, are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness. Shariputra, all dharmas are empty of characteristics. They are not produced. Not destroyed, not defiled, not pure, and they neither increase nor diminish. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; no field of the eyes, up to and including no field of mind-consciousness; and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, no way, and no understanding and no attaining.

Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva, through reliance on prajna paramita, is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dreamthinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana! All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain Anuttarasamyaksambodhi through reliance on prajna paramita. Therefore, know that prajna paramita is a great spiritual mantra, a great bright mantra, a supreme mantra, an unequalled mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false. That is why the mantra of prajna paramita was spoken. Recite it like this: Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!

Explanation

I.

The Title Bt Nh Tm Kinh

The full name of Bt Nh Tm Kinh is Bt-Nh Ba-La-M t- a Tm-Kinh. Bt Nh is the transliteration of the Sanskrist term prajna. It means wisdom. In hn vi t it is called Tu or Hu . However, this wisdom is more than the regular wisdom we encounter every day. Our daily wisdom usually has duality in itright wrong, black white, good bad, c khng, yu ght, existence nothingness, etc. In deep analysis, this duality wisdom is the source of all troubles, because my right is your wrong and, therefore, conflict arises between us. Duality wisdom makes our heart discriminate between this and that (tm phn bi t), makes our heart jumpy (tm v ng ng), leads us into conflicts and, therefore, makes us ignorant (si m, v minh). In short, our everyday wisdom is not true wisdom yet. The true wisdom surpasses such duality, surpassing right and wrong, surpassing existence and nothingness, etc. It is the wisdom of a mother of 2 fighting children, each claiming that he is right and the other is wrong. The mother sees neither right nor wrong, but only that both children are ignorant in their fight. To indicate this ultimate wisdom, the Buddhists see fit to keep the word prajna or its transliteration Bt Nh, instead of translating it into the word wisdom, tr tu or tr hu . Ba-La-M t- a is the transliteration of the Sanskrist term paramita and means crossing to the other shore. In hn vi t, it is as in ph chng sinh. Crossing to the other shore also means gi i thot (liberate) or gic ng (enlightened).

But, what shore and what river are we talking about? In Buddhism, we are on the shore of suffering (kh ). By crossing the river of ignorance (v minh), we get to the other shore, which is the shore of enlightenment (gic ng ). Thus, Bt Nh is the ultimate wisdom that carries us ( ) across the river of ignorance (v minh) to the shore of enlightenment (gic ng ) Tm means the heart, the core, the essential. Kinh means sutra, holy writing. Thus Bt Nh Tm Kinh is an essential holy writing about the ultimate wisdom that carries us ( ) across the river of ignorance (v minh) to the shore of enlightenment (gic ng ). (However, please note, when we talk about crossing from the shore of suffering to the shore of enlightenment, we are talking about dualitytwo opposite shoreswhich we have said is not really wisdom. Bt Nh accepts no duality. As we will see later, in Bt Nh, when we reach the other shore, we see that the true nature of all things is khng, and in khng there was/is/will be no river to cross. All the crossing is just a fleeting phenomenon of the mind).

II.

The Essence of Wisdom (The first 2 verses)

The first 2 verses are the essence of Bt Nh. All other following verses are further expansion of this essence. These are the first 2 verses: Hn vi t Qun-t -t i B -tt, hnh thm Bt-nh Ba-la-m t- a th i chi u ki n ng-uNn giai khng, thi t kh ch. nh t

X-L i-T ! S c b t d khng, khng b t d s c; s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c; th , t ng, hnh, th c, di c ph c nh th . Ti ng Vi t Khi B tt Qun t t i th c hnh Bt-nh Ba-la-m t- a su xa, soi th y nm uNn v t qua m i kh ch. u khng, li n

X L i T ! S c ch ng khc khng, khng ch ng khc s c; s c t c l khng, khng t c l s c; th , t ng, hnh, th c cng l i nh v y.

English When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty. Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So, too, are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.

tt a, which is the transliteration of the Sanskrist term B tt is the short form of b Bodhisattva. It is a word in Mahayana Buddhism (ph t gio i th a). Bodhi (b ) means gic ng , enlightened. Bodhisattva means enlightened being. In the Mahayana tradition, b tt is a person who has reached enlightenment (gic ng ) but postpones final attainment of full Buddhahood in order to help other people reach enlightenment. B tt is one step lower than a full Buddha, so to speak. Tu b -tt th a (training in the bodhisattva way) is the Mahayana way to reach enlightenment. This way is called l c ba-la-m t (six paths to cross to the other shore). They are: B th (giving), tr gi i (keeping rules and precepts), nh n nh c (patient and humble), tinh t n (advancing in the practice), thi n nh (mediation) and tr hu (wisdom). At the start of the training, the first thing a trainee of must do is pht tm b - (start bodhicitta, start bodhisattvas heart)a commitment to achieve enlightenment in order to help other beings achieve enlightenment too. This is a very selfless vow. (Please see the Bodhisattva way at http://www.buddhismtoday.com/viet/phatphap/lucdobalamat.htm). i th a (Mahayana) has B tt (Boddhisattva) as an enlightened person. Ph t gio nguyn th y (Theravada) has two types of enlightened persons: (1) Bch Chi Ph t (pratyekabuddha) is a person who reaches enlightenment through practicing Th p Nh Nhn Duyn (the twelve links of cause and effect). This training way is called Duyn Gic (enlightenment through the law of causation). (2) A-la-hn (arhat) is a person who reaches and Bt Chnh o (The Four Noble Truths and The enlightenment from practicing T Di u Noble Eightfold Path). This training way is called Thanh Vn (sound and speech, of the Buddha). We will explore these different training ways later. The fullest level of enlightenment is Buddha (Ph t). There are many (full) Buddhas in the sutras, but there is only one historical (full) Buddha in the history of the world--that is Buddha Sakyamuni (Thch Ca Mu Ni, the sage of the Sakyas family), the founder of Buddhism. Thus, we have 4 types of enlightened persons, ranked from top down: Ph t, b tt, bch chi ph t, a-la-hn (buddha, bodhisattva, pratyekabuddha, arhat).
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Qun T T i is the name of the B tt. In most Buddhist sutras, a B tts name is both a proper noun (his own name) and a common noun (a generic term standing for something). The Sanskrist name is Avalokiteshvara, which is translated in this sutra as Qun T T iobserving
existence itself, observing existence as it is. In other sutras, Avalokiteshvara is translated as Qun Th mobserving/ listening to the sounds of the world. One Sanskrist name with two slightly different translations: When we focus on philosophy, it is Qun T T i; when we focus on compassion, it is Qun Th m, listening to the voices of suffering people of the world. B tt Qun T T i , in addition to being a proper name, also indicates any of us who is enlightened enough to be able to observe existence (our self and the world around us) as it is, without distortion, confusion, or ignorance. Ng u n is five skandhas in Sanskrist, or five aggregates in English. The five skandhas are form

(s c), feeling (th ), perception (t ng), mental formation (hnh) and consciousness (th c). Together these five skandhas make up our being. S c (color or form) indicates the physical part of our being. Th t ng hnh th c(feeling, perception, mental formation, consciousness) make up the mental part. Thus, the term ng uNn indicates human being, human existence. The first verse of Bt Nh Tm Kinh, therefore, means When the enlightened person who observes existence as it is practices the profound prajna wisdom, he sees that his being is khng (emptiness, snya), then he crosses beyond all suffering. Here is the first important step into Buddhism. Non-Buddhists generally think that we exist, and our existence is solid, real, and permanent. This attitude is called ch p c (attaching to/grasping onto existence). Buddhism says our existence is not real--it is fleeting, impermanent; our being is illusory, it is khng, it is emptiness. This was the earliest meaning of khng in the long development of the Buddhist thought. At that time, khng was still limited to human life. Many Buddhists schools of the pre-Bt-Nh time maintained that our being is khng but the world around us does exist. A characteristic of khng at that time was that khng was understood as the opposite of c (existence, form), so khng could easily be understood with the extreme meaning of nihilism. This nihilist extremist attitude is called ch p khng (attaching to/grasping onto emptiness). As we will see in the next verses, Bt Nh (1) expands the concept of khng from human to the entire universe, and (2) at the same time, pulls khng back from the nihilist extreme to the middle way (trung o)--khng m c, c m khng-- and makes khng more realistic and more positive to living. X L i T means Son of the Sari family. This is the name of Buddha Sakyamunis most intelligent disciple. Please note, in Bt Nh Tm Kinh, X L i T was addressed by name twice. Each time signifies a major development in the meaning of khng in the history of Buddhism.

This first time is to take khng from the nihilist opposite of c to the middle way, as the following phrase shows. S c b t d khng, khng b t d s c. S c is not different from khng, khng is not different from s c. S c (color, form) is one of ng uNn (five skandhas, five aggregates) that make up our being. S c indicates the physical part of human. S c is also one of six dusts (l c tr n: s c thanh hng v xc php color, sound, fragrance, taste, objects of touch, dharma) that make up the universe. Thus the term s c in the above phrase serves two major functions. First, it is used as an antonym of khng. Second, it is a subtle link to make a subtle announcement of the upcoming expansion of khng from human to the entire universe. While khng is now quietly planning to expand its territory from human to the entire universe, khng is also pulling its meaning back from the nihilist extreme to the middle way (trung o). Recall that, in the first verse, our being is khng (ng uNn giai khng). However, this second verse shows that khng surely doesnt mean nothing or non-existence. In this second verse, khng is not different from s c, not different from colors and forms that we can see with our eyes. And s c is not different from khng. In other words, khng and s c, the two seemingly opposite concepts, are really one and the same. The repetition, s c b t d khng, khng b t d s c, is a logical formula to confirm, in a negation mode of speaking, that s c and khng are the same. Then the next verse, s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c (s c t c l khng, khng t c l s c), is another logical formula to confirm again, now in the affirmation mode of speaking, that s c and khng are the same. Both the affirmation and negation modes of speaking aim to emphasize one central truth: S c and khng are the same, existence and emptiness are the same, c and khng are the same. Not only s c, which stands for our physical body, but the mental elements of our being also operate the same waythey and khng are the same; they are khng and khng is them. That is the meaning of the next phrase of Bt Nh Tm Kinh: th , t ng, hnh, th c, di c ph c nh th (feeling, perception, mental formation, and consciousness are also like that). In sum, at this point in the development of the Buddhist thought we have: Our being is khng, but khng doesnt mean nihilism, khng is the same as s c or whatever makes up our being.

But why s c and khng are the same? Why apparently opposite things are the same? Here we need to go into the Three Dharma Seals (Tam Php n) to find the answer. Dharma (php) is a rather confusing term in Buddhism, because, depending on the context of speaking, it has several different meanings. Here we will limit ourselves to 2 different meanings only. First, php means anything in the physical and mental universe, like a tree, a table, a feeling, a thought. Second, php also means a Buddhist teaching, a method of practicing Buddhism. Tam Php n (Three Dharma Seals) are three seals to prove that a teaching is true Buddhist teaching: 1. v th ng (non-permanence), 2. v ng (non-self), 3. ni t bn (nirvana). If a teaching misses one of these three seals, it is not Buddhist teaching. a. V th ng (anitya in Sanskrist) means non-permanent, ever-changing. Everything comes and goes, depending on causes and conditions. A tree comes to existence when the cause (the seed) and conditions (weather, water, soil, etc.) are ripe for the seed to grow. Like anything else in the universe, the tree goes through 4 stages: thnh tr ho i khng (appearing, steadying, decaying, disappearing). When causes and conditions become ripe for disappearing, the tree will disappear. This is lu t nhn qu or nhn quyn (law of causation)nhn means cause, duyn means condition. Everything is v th ng (non-permanent), because everything comes, changes and goes depending on ever-changing causes and conditions. b. V ng (non-self). Because everything is v th ng, none has a permanent existence, none has a permanent self. The me today is just the me today. Before I was born, there was no me. Right now, I am ever changing, ever getting older. Eventually I will die off, and after that there is no me. My self is not permanent. I have no permanent self. I have non-self. Non-self does not mean no self; non-self means no permanent self. A natural question arises here: After I die off and my self dissolves, is that the total end of me? Yes and no. Yes, the me is ended, but how about the elements that made up me? I was formed by many elements in the universewater, minerals, chemicals, electrons, electromagnetic, etc. When the me dissolves, I disappear, but the elements that made up me are still there in the universe; they just move around and, depending on causes and conditions, make up something else. In short, after death, my self is no longer here, but the elements that made me are still there in the universe. So, we say philosophically, From the universe I come, and back to the universe I go. But what is the universe? The universe is a big expanse, a borderless, unlimited, never-ending spacea big khng. So, if we replace the word universe with the word khng, then our philosophical statement now reads: From khng I come, and back to khng I go. And that is why we can say in Bt Nh language I am khng, khng is me. I am a fleeting manifestation of the big khng universe. This is the meaning of non-self in Bt Nh language.
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And this is also the basis of s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c. (Form is emptiness, emptiness is form). (Note: The universe is good example to explain Khng, but the universe is not really khng yet. We will talk more about this in the next section). At this point we have answered our question why s c and khng are the same? However, lets go an extra step to finish the third dharma seal, nirvana. c. Ni t Bn (Nirvana)

If we do not understand v th ng and v ng and we grasp onto the idea of a permanent life and a permanent self, we suffer when changes come, just like a person suffers when his beloved changes her heart or passes away. The mental act of grasping onto something or some idea is called attachment or ch p. Attachment to anything or any idea will bring suffering. For example, grasping on the idea that life is miserable makes us suffer from negativism. Grasping on the idea that life is all good makes us suffer from navet. Grasping on the idea that she is my life makes us suffer when she leaves. To relieve ourselves from suffering, we practice non-attachment (v ch p). When we are no longer attached to anything, there is nothing to make our mind jumpy or stressed. No more suffering. The mind is calm and cool like a stove with the fire already extinguished. We have reached nirvana. Nirvana means the fire is out. In short, v ch p is the way to reach enlightenment, to reach nirvana.

However, why when B tt Qun T T i sees that ng u n are khng, he crosses beyond all suffering? Because when he sees that his being is khng he no longer has any attachment. In life, we can grasp onto to millions of things around uswealth, beauty, love, power, ideology. But in the final analysis, the reason we grasp onto anything is because of our self. Because we grasp onto our self, we want everything for our self. If we do not grasp onto our self--because we realize that the self is fleeting, is khng--we will automatically drop all attachments to everything, then we cross beyond all suffering, we reach nirvana. Thus, understanding khng leads to v ch p, which leads to nirvana.

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Does this s c-khng philosophy have anything to do with my life? Yes, this s c-khng philosophy has many fundamental implications on how we should conduct our life. 1. Affirmation of life: The constant negation language of Bt Nh--with void, emptiness, not, and no--gives many people the misconception that Bt Nh denies everything. But a careful reading reveals that Bt Nh doesnt deny anything. Indeed, Bt Nh confirms everything in life. S c is not different from khng, khng is not different from s c. S c is khng, khng is s c. How could this statement mean a denial of anything? It is a clear and emphatic affirmation of both s c and khng, the two apprarent extremities of life. Thus, Bt Nh emphatically affirms life with all life aspects. 2. A relaxed and free attitude about life: Bt Nh keeps us away from attachment. We do not grasp onto s c to deny khng, because khng is s c. We do not grasp onto the khng to deny s c, because s c is khng. Since Bt Nh means non-attaching to either s c or khng, we call the Bt Nh way trung o (middle way). But the Bt Nh middle way doesnt mean we grasp onto to the middle position on the road. All attachments, including attachment to the middle, are suffering. Non-attachment (v ch p) means not attaching to anything, any idea, any position. So, in Bt Nh, we affirm everything while not grasping onto anything. That is the meaning of middle way. Therefore, we can be selling without attaching to money, reading without attaching to the book, eating without attaching to food, driving without attaching to the car, doing politics without attaching to power. In Kinh Kim Cang (The Diamond Sutra), in order to achieve a pure and tranquil heart, B tt should ng v s tr (khng c ch tr ; fixed on no place) (Kinh Kim Cang, Section 10). B tt can stand on any place as he wishes, as long as he is not fixed to that place. The bird has to stand on something once in a while; however, because the bird is not fixed on any place permanently, she is free--the entire sky is her domain. A bird that stands fixed on a place is a dead bird. The reality of life is that we make living choices every day. We constantly make life decisions, constantly take a stand on some ground. However, we should not be attached to any choice we have made, lest we become the prisoner of our own choices. We should be ready to leave any selected choice when necessary. ng v s tr . Not fixed on any place. Then our heart is tranquil and free; we are liberated; we are free.

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3. Bt Nhs middle way differs from indifference or non-commitment. Indifferent and non-committal people dont care about anything, are wishy-washy on all things, and never stand up for anything. Bt Nhs people care about life. They often take a stand for goodness; however, they are not so attached to their idea of goodness to the degree that they try to eliminate all people with a different stand. 4. Bt Nh helps us lead an active and selfless life: In Kinh Kim Cang (the Diamond Sutra), Bt Nh is the key to living an active and selfless life. There the Buddha said in essence, I have helped liberate immeasurable, countless, infinite number of sentient beings, for them to enter nirvana, but indeed no beings have been liberated. Why? Because, if Bodhisattva still sees me, others, sentient beings, instruction recipients, then that is not Bodhisattva. (Kinh Kim Cang, section 3, paraphrased by TDH). Putting aside all abstract philosophical meanings, the above quote means one simple thingB tt doesnt see the difference between himself and others. Why? Because B tt doesnt grasp onto me and others as separate and different entities. I am not different from others, others are not different from me. S c b t d khng, khng b t d s c; s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c. I am others, others are me. So when B tt helps others, he doesnt see that he helps others, he feels like he helps himself. Helping others is just as natural as helping himself. Bt Nh Tm Kinh and Kinh Kim Cang are two very significant Mahayana sutras. They go together well as a pairBt Nh Tm Kinh is abstract philosophy, Kinh Kim Cang is living practice. Reading the two sutras together helps the understanding of each greatly. (For an exposition on Kinh Kim Cang by HT Thch Thanh T , please see http://buddhismtoday.com/viet/kinh/dt/044-thichthanhtu-kinhkimcang.htm ).

Is the Buddhist trung

o different from the Confucian trung dung?

Both trung o and trung dung may be translated as middle way, but they are really different. In Confucianism, trung dung is a way of living with moderation and harmonymoderate in all things, including the application of rules of conduct (nhn l ngha tr tn; humanity, respect, loyalty, wisdom, honesty)--to generate harmony with other people and with tr i t (heaven and earth). Generally speaking, standing in the middle is the favorite position of Trung Dung. The Buddhist trung o means not-attached (v ch p) to anything, including the middle of the road. The Bt Nh practitioner can stand on any ground, any place, the middle, the left, the right, the high, the low. It doesnt matter where. As long as his mind/heart (tm) is not attached to his standing position or to anything else, then his position is good. In Bt Nh, a pure and tranquil

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heart (tm thanh t nh, i.e., non-attaching heart, tm v ch p) is what that counts, not the position on the road. In Zen literature (vn h c Thi n), many Zen masters did things that looked very extreme. A master chopped a wooden Buddha statue to make a fire to warm himself and his student in a very cold night when there was no wood. Another master answered his students question by giving the student a hard slap on the face. Apparently these were very extreme actions, but the Buddhist masters did them, because they knew, in the circumstances at the time, doing so would help their student attain enlightenment, and because their mind was not attached (v ch p) to the idea that the Buddha statue was untouchable or that it was unacceptable to answer a question with a slap. These actions probably would not be allowed in Confucianism. Confucian Trung dung is a good managerial rule; Buddhist trung artist. (For the Confucian book Trung Dung, please see http://www.personal.usyd.edu.au/~cdao/booksv/cpdd1.htm) o is the free mind of a master

III.

Further expansion of Bt Nh

As weve mentioned previously, the first 2 verses summarize the gist of Bt Nh teaching. The following verses are further expansion of Bt Nh. X-L i-T ! Th ch Php khng t ng, b t sanh b t di t, b t c u b t t nh, b t tng b t gi m. (X L i T , m i s gi m.) u l khng, ch ng sanh ch ng di t, ch ng d ch ng s ch, ch ng tng ch ng

(Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness. They are not borrn, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure, and
they neither increase nor diminish).

This is the second and last time X-L i-T is addressed directly by name in Bt Nh Tm Kinh. This time is to indicate the major shift of khng from human being to all things in existence. Recall in the first verse, we have ng uNn giai khng (five skandhas are emptiness) and ng uNn indicates human being. In this verse we have ch php khng t ng (all dharmas are emptiness). Ch php means t t c cc php, all things in the universe--both in the universe of the mind and in the external universe. Thus, now Bt Nh expands Khngs territory to affirm that not only human being but everything else in the universe is khng. Recall, previously in the example of my coming into the world and death, we said From the universe I come, and back to the universe I go, and from that we changed to From khng I
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come, and back to khng I go. The same thing can be said about everything else in the universe. From khng the stars come, and back to khng the stars go. Stars are born from khng, and in due time, stars burst and disappear back to khng. But the universe itself, although serving as a good example to understand khng, is not khng yet, because we still can see the universe with our eyes and our mindthe universe itself is dharma (php), not khng. We need to push our logic further, to its ultimate limits, to the absoluteall universes, both external and in the mind, come from khng and back to khng they go. Khng is the true substance of all things, and everything is only a fleeting manisfestation of khng, just like waves are fleeting manifestation of water. Here we can see the relationship between substance and phenomenon. Water is the substance, wave is the phenomenon. Subtance and phenomenon are not two different things; substance and phenomenon are just two different ways to talk about the same thing. Wave is not different from water, water is not different from wave; wave is water, water is wave. Similar to water, Khong is the substance of everything. And similar to wave, everything is the phenomenon of Khong. Every thing is not different from khng, khng is not different from anything; all things are khng, khng is everything. Standing on the beach to watch the sea, if we look at the waves (i.e., the phenomenon) , we can see that some new waves are born, some old waves are destroyed, some waves are muddy, some waves are clean, some waves increase, some waves decrease. However, the water (i.e., the substance) is just water, always there, not born, not destroyed, not dirty, not clean, not increasing, not decreasing. Thus, when we look at all things in the universe, we see comings and goings and all kinds of movements and changes. But if we look at the substance of all things, which is khng, then khng is just khng, always there, never born, never destroyed, never dirty, never clean, never increasing, never decreasing. That is the meaning of Th ch php khng t ng, b t sanh, b t di t, b t c u, b t t nh, b t tng, b t gi m. So now we have the defining characteristics of Khng: 1. Khng is the substance of all things in the universe (and everything in the universe is the manifestion of Khng). 2. Khng is absolutealways there, never born, never destroyed, never dirty, never clean, never decreasing, never increasing. This concept of Khng is somewhat similar to the concept of God in theist religions, with one major difference: God has an active personality that actively engages in human life and the life of the universe, while Khng is absolutely neutral.

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Th c khng trung, v s c, v th , t ng, hnh, th c; v nhn, nh, t , thi t, thn, ; v s c, thinh, hng, v , xc, php; v nhn gi i, ni ch v -th c-gi i. (Cho nn, trong khng ch ng c s c, ch ng c th , t ng, hnh, th c; ch ng c m t, tai, mi, l i, thn, ; ch ng c mu s c, m thanh, hng thm, v n m, xc c m, cc php; ch ng c ni nhn, cho n ch ng c ni th c.) ( Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; no field of the eyes, up to and including no field of mind-consciousness). From this verse on, Bt Nh presents a list of all fundamental teachings by the Buddha himself. These teachings are the foundation of Buddhism. They make up Buddhism. However, Bt Nh Tm Kinh starts to negate all teachings, one by one. At this time, we need to keep in mind these points: First, in Bt Nh language, negation and affirmation are the same. S c b t d khng, khng b t d s c; s c t c th khng, khng t c th s c. Second, khng is the substance of all things, including all teachings, all practices. Like everything else, teachings and practices are merely phenomena--fleeting manifestation of khng. Third, if we observe the sea and focus our thinking on the water, we can say that only the water exists and the waves do not really existthey are just movements of water. Similarly, when we focus our thinking on the substance of all things in the universekhngwe can say that in khng nothing really exists; everything is just fleeting manifestation of khng. That is why in this verse that we are examining, Bt Nh Tm Kinh says, In khng, there is no And then Bt Nh lists a full list of Buddhist teachings. The question is Why does Bt Nh Tm Kinh take the trouble to list an entire list of teachings, just to negate them one by one? What is the purpose of this careful negation? We will answer this question, but before that we have to know what teachings are listed and negated. Lets examine the list. Ng u n (s c th t ng hnh th cfive skandhas: form, feeling, perception, mental formation, consciousness) are what make a human being. Bt Nh now negates five skandhas. L c cn (nhn nh t thi t thn su g c: m t tai mi l i, thn -- six roots, six sensing organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind): These are the gate, the interface, between the external world and the world of our mind. Without these we do not exist, both physically and mentally. But Bt Nh now negates l c cn.
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L c tr n (s c thanh hng v xc phpsix dusts or six gunas or six sense objects: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, and dharmas). L c tr n correspond to l c cn in the preceding paragraph. L c tr n make up the entire universe. The first five (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch) make up the physical universe, the last one dharmasall things (that the mind can see)--makes up the mental universe. L c tr n (six dusts) from outside enter our boby and mind through l c cn (six roots) and will give us sensations, which will make us desire, and from desire all troublesome things come. That is why these six things are called six dusts (l c tr n). The act of l c tr n entering our body through l c cn is called l c nh p (six entrances). L c tr n is another fundamental Buddhist teaching. L c tr n make up the universe. But Bt Nh now negates l c tr n.
V nhn gi i, ni ch v th c gi i. Ch ng c ni nhn, cho n ch ng c ni th c. No field

of the eyes, up to and including no field of mind-consciousness. Here we are talking about th p bt gi i (eighteen realms)six realms of six sense organs: nhn gi i (realm of the eyes), nh gi i (realm of the ears), t gi i (realm of the nose), thi t gi i (realm of the tongue), thn gi i (realm of the body), gi i (realm of the mind); six realms of six objects of senses: s c gi i (realm of color), thanh gi i (realm of sound), hng gi i (realm of smell), v gi i (realm of taste), xc gi i (realm of touch), php gi i (realm of thought); and six realms of consciousness: nhn th c gi i (realm of eye-consciousness), nh th c gi i (realm of ear-consciousness), t th c gi i (realm of nose-consciousness), thi t th c gi i (realm of tongue consciousness), thn th c gi i (realm of body-consciousness), th c gi i (realm of mindconsciousness). Bt nh uses the short way of mentioning only the first (eyes) and the last realm (mindconsciousness) to indicate all eighteen realms. These eighteen realms make up the entire physical and mental universe. But again, Bt Nh negates all eighteen realms.

V v minh, di c v v minh t n; ni ch v lo t , di c v lo t t n. (Ch ng c v minh, cng ch ng c ch m d t v minh; cho ch m d t gi ch t.) n ch ng c gi ch t, cng ch ng c

(No ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death.) Here is another major Buddhist teaching that is negatedTh p Nh Nhn Duyn (m i hai nhn duyn, the twelve links of cause and effect, or Law of Causation). As we have mentioned earlier, everything comes and goes by causation. Th p nh nhn duyn enumerates twelve
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causation links to show how ignorance ends up causing old age, sickness and death, which are at the core of suffering. Th p Nh Nhn Duyn is also known as duyn kh i or duyn sinh (birth from law of causation, or dependent origination). The twelve links starts with ignorance and ends with old age and death, with 10 other links in between. Bt Nh Tm Kinh does not enumerate all twelve, but only mentions the first link (ignorance) and the last link (old age and death) to indicate the entire chain of twelve. The twelve links are: 1) 2) 3) 4) V minh: Ignorance. Hnh: Mental moving, mental formation Th c: Consciousness. Danh s c: Name and Form.

5) L c Nh p: Six entrances through six organs (m t,tai mi, l i, thn, --eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind). 6) 7) 8) 9) Xc: Contact Th : Feeling, sensation. i: Desire, craving Th : Grasping, attachment

10) H u: Owning, possessing, existing. 11) Sanh: Birth. 12) Lo T : Old Age, (Illness) and Death. Ignorance (v minh), the 1st link, makes the mind lose its true nature of tranquility; ignorance causes the mind to move; this moving of the mind (hnh) is the 2nd link. The moving mind forms Consciousness (th c), the 3rd link. Consciousness looks at the world of forms and gives names to the forms, that is the 4th link (danh s c; names and forms). This world of names and forms enters our body and mind through six entrances (l c nh p), that is the 5th link. Six entrances generate contact with our body and mind; contact (xc) is the 6th link. Contact gives us sensations (th ), the 7th link. Sensations make us desire (i), the 8th link. Desire makes us grasp onto things (th ), the 9th link. Grasping gives us Posession (h u), the 10th link. Desire, grasping and possession are said to carry the karmic force of samsara (nghi p l c c a lun h i),
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which will bring people back to a rebirth (reincarnation) at death, thus after Possession comes birth, the 11th link. And of course, birth brings old age, illness and death, and all kinds of suffering, the 12th link. The conventional explanation of Th p Nh Nhn Duyn is usually connected to the concept of lun h i (samsara) and ti sinh (rebirth). However, there is also a bio-psychological explanation that desire, grasping and possession make us constantly, in every second of the day, die and be reborn into the suffering of the mind. Thus, ignorance is the ultimate cause of suffering. Ignorance starts the causal chain that ultimately results in suffering. If we eliminate ignorance, we subsequently eliminate rebirth, old age, death and suffering. (For in-depth study of Th p Nh Nhn Duyn, please see Th p Nh Nhn Duyn by Thch Thng Hu at http://www.buddhismtoday.com/viet/phatphap/thapnhinhanduyen.htm, and Th p Nh Nhn Duyn, translated by Ph m Kim Khnh at http://www.thuvienhoasen.org/ducphatvaphatphap25.htm ). Th p Nh Nhn Duyn is said to be studied and practiced in Theravada Buddhism (ph t gio nguyn th y). Such a practice is called tu duyn gic (training based on Law of Causation), and the person who achieves enlightenment through tu duyn gic is called Bch Chi Ph t (pratyekabuddha) or Duyn Gic Ph t (Enlightened through learning Law of Causation). However, now Bt Nh negates this major teaching of Th p Nh Nhn Duyn: V v minh, di c v v minh t n. Ni ch v lo t , di c v lo t t n. No ignorance, also no elimination of ignorance. Through the 12 links, all the way to no old age and death, and no elimination of old age and death. Thus Th p Nh Nhn Duyn is completely negated.

At this point, we should take a brief break, to address the most misunderstood point in Buddhism: If there is v ng (non-self, no permanent self), then what is it that is reborn many times, living many lives after many deaths? Samsara (lun h i) and reincarnation (ti sinh) were taught in Hinduism before Buddhism appeared. In Hinduism, each person has an eternal soul (Atman). This Atman survives death and reincarnates in next life, according to his karma (nghi p). Karma is the result of each persons actions and is the force that determines reincarnation. The cycle of birth-deathreincarnation is samsara (lun h i). When the person attains spiritual purity, he achieves salvation and is not reincarnated anymore. Then his Atman resides with Brahman (the One, God) in eternity.

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Buddhism talks about karma, samsara and rebirth; however, Buddhist rebirth is different from Hindu reincarnation in a very fundamental point: In Buddhism, v ng means there is no permanent self. There is no permanent soul that survives death. A persons self dissolves after death. All the elements that made up him also dissolve; however, there is one element that survivesthe alaya vijnana (a l i da th c). Vijnana (th c) is consciousness, the knowing ability of the mind. There are eight vijnanas, the first five are associated with the five sense organs, the last three are associated with the mind. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Nhn th c (eye consciousness, cakshu vijnana) Nh th c (ear consciousness, shrotra vijnana) T th c (nose consciousness, ghrana vijnana) Thi t th c (tongue consciousness, jihva vijnana) Thn th c (body consciousness, kaya vijnana) th c (mental consciousness, mano vijnanaevaluate and process information from the first five vijnanas) 7. M t-na th c (afflicted consciousness, klesha vijnanathinking about itself, thinking that there is a self) 8. A-l i-da th c (store consciousness, alaya vijnanathe leader of all consciousnesses, storing memories of all thoughts and actions)

The 8th vijnana, alaya vijnana (a-l i-da th c), is the only element of a beings self that survives death. It is called store consciousness because it stores karma of the self as well as karma of all previous selves (in previous lives). It determines how the next rebirth will be and carries the karmic seeds from one self (one life) to the next self (next life), and it accumulates karma as it goes through lives. But this storage is neutral; it doesnt do thinking; all the thinking is done by the first seven vijnanas. In other words, this alaya vijnana is not me or my soul or my self. It is only an element of me (during in my life) and carries the karmic seeds of countless lives from the endless beginning, through my life, and countless more lives to come. In simple language of the computer age, we can say alaya vijnna is just a memory chip. After my death, the alaya vijnana carries the memory of me (and memory of countless lives before me) to the next life in a new self. This new self is not my self, although it does have the memory of me in it. Upon enlightenment, alaya vijnana becomes pure and one with the Truth (Chn Nh, Tathagatagarba, Ph t, Buddha), which is Khng. Alaya vijnana itself as a separate entity ceases to exist. No more rebirth. This subject of rebirth and samsara is very confusing, because: 1. Most Buddhists of Asia believe in the reincarnation of a permanent soul. This is really a Hindu teaching and is against the Buddhist teaching of non-self (no permanent self, no
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permanent soul). However, the idea of a permanent soul is very simple and straight forward and fits human intuition well. It is also supported by some Buddhist sutras themselves, such as Kinh Vu Lan (Ullambana Sutra), in which M c Ki n Lin (Mu-lien) found his mothers soul being punished in hell. (See Kinh Vu Lan at http://www.budsas.org/uni/u-kinh-bt-ngan/vulan.htm). The strong influence of this sutra is shown in the fact that Vu Lan festival (Ullambana day) is an annually observed day in the Buddhist Asia. Of course, Mu-liens mother may symbolically stands for our own ego, our own self, which is the mother of our confusing mind, with its attachment to greed, anger and ignorance (tham, sn, si). But the point is, the vast majority of Asian Buddhists believe in the reincarnation of a soul. 2. Alaya Vijnana, and a rebirth without a permanent self, is a very complex teaching of a major school of Buddhism: Yogacara (Duy Th c Tng). Very few Buddhists master this subject. 3. Most western Buddhists dont believe in Samsara and karmic rebirth. They think the karmic rebirth theory is unnecessary in the large structure of Buddhist teaching. (Please see A Buddhist Ethic Without Karmic Rebirth? by Winston L. King at http://www.quangduc.com/English/Ethics/20.buddhistkarma.html).

(For some easy reading on non-self and Buddhist rebirth, please see Anatta or Soul-lessness by Narada Mahthera at http://www.enotalone.com/article/4090.html, and Is there an Eternal Soul? at http://www.purifymind.com/EternalSoul.htm. For a quick reading on A l i da th c, please see definition of A l i da th c at http://thuvienhoasen.org/tudienphathoc-vietanhthienphuc-A.htm. For Duy Th c Lu n (Yogaraca), please see http://thuvienhoasen.org/indexphathoc-tamlyhocphatgiao.htm).

V kh t p di t

o.

(Ch ng c kh , nguyn nhn kh , s di t kh , v con ng di t kh .) (There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no extinction of suffering, no path to extinction of suffering.) This is the negation of the most fundamental of all Buddhist teachings: The Fourth Noble Truth (T Di u ) and the Noble Eightfold Path (Bt Chnh o). T di u (The Four Noble Truth) is four basic truths about life: kh t p di t o (suffering, causes of suffering, extinction of suffering, path to extinction of suffering). T Di u is the
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first teaching by the Buddha after he reached Enlightenment, written in Kinh Chuy n Php Lun (Dharma-Wheel Turning Sutra).

1. Kh (Suffering): Life contains suffering. Generally we can classify suffering into physical suffering and mental sufering. (a) Physical suffering includes birth, old age, sickness, and death (sinh lo b nh t ). (b) Mental suffering includes losing what we like (thng m m t), contacting what we dont like (ght m g p), and unfulfilled desires (mu n m khng c). (c) However, there is also another kind of suffering that encompasses all other sufferingit is the suffering coming from grasping onto the self as a permanent everlasting self. We all can just see how a person who lives like he never dies will suffer. But what about so many happy times we have in life? Wouldnt it be too negative to define life merely as a sea of suffering? Yes, life contains both unhappy times and happy times (assuming that they are really happy times and not miseries in disguise as our experience shows often). Lets just say that Buddhist knowledge and practices take away unhappy times, by training our mind to be absolutely tranquil. A tranquil mind is always calm. It is not excited. It surpasses the typical excitement of sorrow and jollity. It constantly carries with it a quiet everlasting joy, which is different from the noisy happiness of a beer drinking bout. Suffering, ultimately, is a mental phenomenon. Even if the stimulus is external, such as a hard slap on the face, it is still the mind that suffers or notif your cheek is burning from the slap but your mind feels happy about it, then where is the suffering? Therefore, Buddhism teaches the extinction of suffering by teaching us to control our mind, i.e., to keep the mind tranquil at all time. The mind is the beginning and the endthe mind is ignorance and Buddha. Kinh Php C (Dhammpada) is the most important sutra in Theravada Buddhism (Ph t gio nguyn th y) and one of the most fundamental sutras in the entire Buddhist tradition. The first verse of Kinh Php C says, The mind leads all the phenomena of existence; the mind is the leader, the mind makes them. ( d n u cc php, lm ch t o). And verse 35 says, The mind is unstable and flighty. It wanders wherever it desires. Therefore it is good to control the mind. A disciplined mind brings happiness. (Kh n m gi , khinh ng, theo cc d c quay cu ng. Lnh thay i u ph c tm, tm i u an l c n). (English by Harischandra Kaviratna at http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/dhamma/dham-hp.htm; Vietnamese by Thich Minh Chau at http://buddhismtoday.com/viet/kinh/pali/phapcu1.htm). Thus, ultimately, the mind is the cause of both suffering and liberation. Buddhism takes away our suffering by training our own mind, not by directly changing the external world that we live
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in. But of course, when our mind is changed inside, we will change our external world accordingly.

2.

T p (Causes of Suffering)

Craving causes suffering. In Vietnamese, it is tham i (greed and desire) or i d c (desire and want). Verse 335 of Kinh Php C (Dhammapada) says, Whosoever is overcome by this shameful craving which creates entanglements in this world, his sorrows increase like the luxuriant birana grass in the rainy season (Ai s ng trong i ny, b i d c bu c rng, s u kh s tng tr ng, nh c Bi g p ma). Kinh Chuy n Php Lun (Dharma-Wheel Sutra) mentions 3 types of craving: a) Craving for sensual things; b) craving based on the idea that life is permanentchasing after things thinking that life never ends, c) craving based on the idea that death is the end of all thingsindulging in things thinking that there is nothing after death.

3.

Di t (Extinction of Suffering)

Since craving is the cause of suffering, to stop suffering we need to stop, to denounce, to leave, to cut away craving. The extinction of craving means the extinction of suffering and, therefore, means nirvana. Please note, in Th p Nh Nhn Duyn (twelve links of cause and effect), we have said ignorance is the first cause of suffering, and craving is the 8th link in the causal chain. To stop suffering (Four Noble Truths), we say that to stop there, we stop ignorance. But here in T Di u suffering, we stop craving, meaning cutting off the causal chain in the middle at the 8th link. This seemingly technical distinction has a profound implication in practice: If we are intelligent enough to gain wisdom, our wisdom will conquer everything, including ignorance, craving and suffering. If we are not endowed with high intellectual capacity to gain the ultimate wisdom, we still can stop suffering by following the simple rules of conduct to stop craving. The Buddhists usually say There are 84 thousand Dharmas (tm mi b n ngn php mn), enough for each person in the world to choose a practice (php mn) that fits him/her. This methodology of using appropriate means for different kinds of people is called phng ti n (means, method). It allows Buddhism to grow everywhere, in all cultures, among all peoples, at all times.

4.

o (the Path to Extinction of Suffering) o)


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This path has eight lanes and is called The Noble Eightfold Path (Bt Chnh

1. Chnh ki n (right view): The understanding of the Four Noble Truths (T Di u ), v th ng (non-permanence) and v ng (non-self) 2. Chnh t duy (right thought): Thoughts about stopping craving (la b i d c), about no anger and violence (v sn), about no harmful activities (v h i). 3. Chnh ng (right speech): no lying (khng ni lo), no divisive speech (khng ni hai l i, ni m th c), no abusive speech (khng ni l i c c), no idle chatters (khng ni l i ph phi m). 4. Chnh nghi p (right action): No killing (khng st sinh), no stealing (khng tr m c p), no wrongful sexual conduct (khng t dm). 5. Chnh m ng (right livelihood): No engaging in trade or profession that, either directly or indirectly, results in harm to other living beings. 6. Chnh tinh t n (right effort): Try to prevent wrongful thoughts and actions from arising; if they have already arisen, try to stop them. Try to bring up good thoughts and actions; if they have already come, try to continue them. 7. Chnh ni m (right mindfulness): Observing our body, our feelings, our thoughts and Dharma (all things, all teachings) to conquer all cravings and distress. 8. Chnh nh (right concentration): This is about the practice of meditation (thi n). (For more about T Di u and Bt Chnh o, please read http://www.budsas.org/uni/1bai/phap002.htm by Bnh Anson, http://zencomp.com/greatwisdom/uni/u-4de-pkk/4de-01.htm, by Ph m Kim Khnh, http://www.budsas.org/uni/1-bai/phap002.htm by Thch Vin Gic). T Di u is the first and most fundamental Buddhist teaching about a path to enlightenment. It is the way to reach A la hn enlightenment in Theravada. However, Bt Nh Tm Kinh now negates T Di u .

V tr di c v

c. t. No understanding and no attaining).

(Khng c tr, cng khng c

This is another negation of a very fundamental principle of Buddhism. All Buddhist teachings, regardless of what school, focus heavily on wisdom and knowledge (Tr), to conquer ignorance. Ignorance creates suffering. In T Di u (Four Noble Truths), right view is the first element of The Noble Eightfold Path to extinction of suffering. In Th p Nh Nhn Duyn (the twelve links of cause and effect), eliminating ignorance is the method to stop suffering. And of course, Bt Nh itself is supposed to be the highest wisdom ever. Simply put, there is no Buddhism without knowledge and wisdom. And, of course, the ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to cross over to the other shore, to attain enlightenment. But now Bt Nh negates both wisdom and attaining (Nirvana). This is another way to say that no Buddhist teaching exists at all! The negation of all teachings has completed!
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But why negate all the teachings? What does this negation mean?

1. We need to keep in mind that, in Bt Nh, negation and affirmation are the sames c t c th khng, khng t c th s c; negation is affirmation, affirmation is negation. And as we have seen, Bt Nh affirms all things as they truly are. Looking at the sea, if we focus our attention on the water only, we can say that the waves dont existwaves are just the movement of water. However, if we focus our attention on the waves themselves, we can say that the waves do exist, but only briefly. Thus, when we are talking with our attention focused on khng, we say, In khng there is no teaching. If our attention is focused on the teachings themselves, we say, Yes, there are teachings, but they are impermanent. The strong focus on khng in Bt Nh is a practical way to focus our attention on impermanence. Affirmation of the impermanence of the teachings means Yes, there are teachings, so learn them and practice them. But they are impermanent, temporary, so dont be attached to them. That means: a. Each listed teaching is important and deseves to be mentioned individually and specifically in Bt Nh Tm Kinh. So, please practice each teaching seriously. b. But each teaching is also impermanent and temporary. So, please dont attach yourself to it. That means, be flexible with the teachings. Dont follow them rigidly like a robot. Teachings are guidelines; use your mind/heart and be flexible when applying the teachings to life. c. Teachings are there temporarily to help, like a raft used to cross the river. When you have crossed to the other shore, dont carry the raft on your shoulder. 2. In khng there is no teaching also describes the state of enlightenment.

All the teachings are there to help the practitioner achieve enlightenment, achieve nirvana. But what is nirvana? Nirvana means the fire is outthe completely pure and tranquil mind, the mind that has absolutely no attachment, the mind that sees all things but is attached to nothing, the mind of khng.
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This mind understands that khng is its substance as well as the substance of everything else in the universe. This mind has found its true naturekhng, the absolute, the never-born neverdestroyed nerver-dirty never-clean never-increasing never-diminishing, the absolute tranquility, the Buddha. This mind, which has found its true nature, is now Buddha. Minh tm ki n tnh thnh Ph t. Shine the mind, see true nature, become Buddha. But has this mind just, in fact, turned itself from a regular human mind to a Buddha? Yes and no. If we think the way we normally think with a time line of past, present and future, then yes, this mind has just turned from a regular human mind to a Buddha. Five minutes ago it was an ignorant mind, now it is a Buddha. However, from the stand point of enlightenment, the mind has not become anything. The mind has always been there, has always been khng. It didnt know that it is khng, but now it knows that it is khng. Thats all. It did not become something else better or higher. When ignorance is still around, ignorance acts like a veil that obstructs the minds vision; therefore, the mind cannot see itself clearly. When the mind has no attachment, the veil of v minh (ignorance) is lifted, and the mind can see itself truly as khng. The mind is now back to its true naturekhng, the absolute tranquility, nirvana, Buddha. Nirvana has always been there, Buddha has always been there. It is just a matter of seeing or not-seeing. So, indeed, there is no becoming Buddha, no attaining enlightenment, no river to cross, no crossing over. The Buddha has always been there. This is why at the beginning of this exposition, we say, All the crossing is just a fleeting phenomenon of the mind.

A note on seeing When we say the mind sees itself as khng, we may think of the word see as a function of the intellect, an intellectual capacity of our brain to understand. But true seeing involves much more than the intellect. Example: Wife tells drunken husband, Do you know how miserable I am? Husband answers, Of course... I know I spend all the money on booze... I get home late and drunk every night I mess up the floor with my vomit... You are stressed all the time What is so hard to understand about that ? And he continues drinking day after day. That is the understanding or seeing of the intellect. Until one day, the husband feels in every fiber of his body and in every cell of his brain how irresponsible he has been. He now feels every single miligram of his wifes pain, and her pain
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burns every cell in his body and mind like a holocaust. He wakes up, as if from a dream. Then he just quits drinking, forever. That is true seeing. So, when we talk about seeing or understanding in the sense of enlightenment, we talk about a total awakening experience that involves every single aspect of our mental existence--the intellect, the will, the emotion, the id, the ego, the super-ego, the consciousness, the subconsciousness, the nonconscious and what have you--a total transformation, a total rebirth, that brings the mind to a completely new level of seeing, understanding, feeling, thinking and acting. This total awakening, therefore, cannot be achieved merely by the intellecti.e. not merely by reading Buddhist philosophy. The Buddhist road to achieve this total awakening contains three major elements: Gi i (rules of conduct), nh (meditation, concentrating the mind), hu (wisdom). A typical example is Bt Chnh o (The Noble Eightfold Path). The eight lanes of Bt Chnh o are grouped into three groups as follows: Hu (wisdom): 1. Chnh ki n (right view), 2. Chnh t duy (right thought). Gi i (rules of conduct): 3. Chnh Ng (right speech), 4. Chnh Nghi p (right action), 5. Chnh m ng (right livelihood). nh (meditation): 6. Chnh tinh t n (right effort), 7. Chnh ni m (right mindfulness), 8. Chnh nh (right concentration) Gi i nh hu are called tam h c (three studies) and work together. Good conduct, calm attitude and wise knowledge go together; we cannot leave one out and hope to gain an accurate understanding of Buddhism, not mentioning enlightenment. Reading Buddhist books while embezzling government money or getting drunk every day will not give us an accurate understanding of Buddhism. Buddhism is more than an intllectual philosophy. It is a comprehensive way of living. And all living needs practice.

IV.

The Power of Bt Nh to Bring Enlightenment

In the opening verse, we have B tt Qun T T i crossing beyond all suffering from practicing Bt Nh. Now in the ending section, we come back to the power of Bt Nh to bring enlightenment.

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D v s c c , B - tt- a y Bt-nh-ba-la m t- a c tm v qui-ng i; v qui-ng i c v h u kh ng-b ; vi n ly in- o m ng t ng; c u cnh Ni t-bn. (B i ch ng c g t, B tt nng t a Bt nh ba la m t a, nn tm khng v ng m c; v khng v ng m c nn khng s hi, xa la m ng t ng in o, r t ro ni t bn.) (Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva, through reliance on prajna paramita, is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dreamthinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana!) B tt, with Bt Nh wisdom, sees that Khng is the true substance of all things, everything is just a fleeting manifestation of Khng, and in Khng there is nothing--no nirvana, no attaining nirvana. Therefore, B tt does not think about attaining nirvana and, thus, has no attachment in his heart. (If B tt keeps aiming at the goal of attaining nirvana, then B tt would never reach nirvana, because the attachment to the goal is there in his heart). Since the heart is not attached to anything, B tt is not afraid of anything. Here, we need to make a note that fearlessness is a very significant feature of the B tt way. In l c ba-la-m t (B tts six virtues of enlightenment), b th (giving) comes first. (The other five are tr gi i keeping rules and precepts, nh n nh c--patient and humble, tinh t n--effort, thi n nh mediation, and tr hu wisdom). There are 3 kinds of giving: Ti th (giving money), php th (giving Dharma, giving Buddhist teachings), v y th (giving fearlessness; v y means khng s ). Giving here doesnt mean just giving the extra things one doesnt need; it may be giving ones own life for others. Among the three givings, giving money is lowest and giving fearlessness (v y th) is highest. Thus, we can see the important role of fearlessness in the B tt way. But no fear of what? No fear of pain and suffering; no fear of losing anything, including ones own life; no fear of notgaining anything, including not gaining enlightenment; no fear of following and teaching a human-based way to liberation, in which manand no one else, neither saints nor gods--is responsible for his actions. Without attachment, without fear, B tt drops all crazy upside-down dream-thoughts ( in o m ng t ng), all distorted notions about life, and all attachments resuling from these distorted notions. Thus, B tt attains nirvana. (For more about the B tt way, please see L c ba-la-m t by Thch Thng Hu , http://www.buddhismtoday.com/viet/phatphap/lucdobalamat.htm; Khuy n Pht B i S Th t Hi n, http://www.dharmasite.net/khuyenphatbodetam_hanviet.htm). Tm by

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Tam-th ch Ph t, y Bt-nh-ba-la m t- a c (Ch Ph t ba gic.)

c A-n u- a-la tam-mi u tam-b - . t c v th ng chnh ng chnh

i nng t a Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a nn

(All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain Anuttarasamyaksambodhi through reliance on prajna paramita.) A-n u- a-la tam-mi u tam-b - is the transliteration of the Sanskrist term Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, which is the fullest level of enlightenment. Anuttara means highest, nothing higher (v th ng). Sammyak means main/essential comprehensive level (chnh ng). Sambodhi means main/essential enlightenment (chnh gic). It is translated into hn vi t as v th ng chnh d ng chnh gic. As we have mentioned previously, there are 4 levels of enlightenmentA la hn (Arhat), Bch Chi Ph t (pratyekabuddha), B tt (Bodhisattva), and Ph t (Buddha). All the Buddhas of the past, the present, and the future attain the highest rank of enlightenmentv th ng chnh ng chnh gic--from relying on Bt Nh.

C tri Bt-nh Ba-la-m t- a, th i-th n ch, th i minh ch, th v-th ng ch, th v ng ng ch, nng tr nh t thi t kh , chn thi t b t h. C thuy t Bt-nh-ba-la-m t- a ch, t c thuy t ch vi t: Y tla-tng y t- , B - . Tt b ha Y t, Ba-la y t- , Ba-

(Nn bi t Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a l th n ch l n, l minh ch l n, l ch t i cao, l ch khng g snh b ng, tr h t m i kh ch, ch c th t, khng d i. Nn ni ch Bt-nh ba-la-m t- a, t c l ni ch r ng: Y t , Y t , Ba la Y t , Ba la tng Y t ,B , Tt b ha. (Qua r i, qua r i, qua b r i, qua b h t r i, gic ng r i, v y !)) (Therefore, know that prajna paramita is a great spiritual mantra, a great bright mantra, a supreme mantra, an unequalled mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false. That is why the mantra of prajna paramita was spoken. Recite it like this: Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha! ) This final verse is about the power of Bt Nh as a mantra. In addition to being very sophisticated knowledge that can be learned consciously, Bt Nh also operates at the level of human subsconscious as a mantra. Mantra (ch) is a saying that is supposed to have supernatural power. Psychologically, a phrase, with a particular pattern of sound vibration of the words when spoken, the meaning of the words, and the regular repetition by the speaker, operates as a
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smoothing self-hypnotism. For example, if someone keeps repeating every day Be rich, be rich, I be rich a hundred times a day, chances are he will find enough motivation to work hard to be very rich some day. In addition, many people also believe that mantra has supernatural power by invoking secret energies from the cosmos. The Bt Nh mantra is Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!, which means Gone, gone, gone to the other shore; all gone to the other shore, already enlightened, so be it! Mantra is recited in the original language to invoke its power. In Vietnam, the Bt Nh mantra is written and recited as a transliteration of the Sanskrist original.

V.

Conclusion

Bt Nh Tm Kinh is highly abstract, contains very high level of logic, and uses very sophisticated logic language unfamiliar to many people. Therefore, it generates great confusion for many. But the sutra is not a game of words by philosophers with too much time on their hand. It is a solid philosophy about the cosmos and the human life. Upon that philosophical foundation grows a very good system of ethics that governs our conduct. Buddhist ethics and philosophy bind together in a very coherent structure. A word of caution for new students of Bt Nh: Since Bt Nh language is extremely versatile, one can quote any little phrase of Bt Nh Tm Kinh to say anything crazy, such as You are talking to me but you are not existing or It is OK to do that, wrong is right and right is wrong. Bt Nh is a comprehensive way of livinga logical philosophy, a system of practices and ethics, and a serious-but-non-attaching attitude on living. Playing word games with bits and pieces of Bt Nh Tm Kinh is like children building a house of cards, thinking that the house is the real shelter for them and their family. It isLost. Dont fall into that game. As a living philosophy, Bt Nh is positive, active, engaging, selfless, peaceful and liberating. It is a very good philosophy, upon which to build education and social development for any society. We Vietnamese are very fortunate to be the torch carrier of this philosophy. It is our honor and duty to preserve, nourish, enrich and share this philosophy widely with all our brothers and sisters, Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese alike, throughout the world. Tr n nh Honh Washington DC Friday, October 17, 2008

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